MINUTES of a COUNCIL MEETING HELD at the COUNCIL CHAMBER on MONDAY 26Th JANUARY 2015 at 7.00 PM

MINUTES OF A COUNCIL MEETING HELD AT THE COUNCIL CHAMBER ON MONDAY 26th JANUARY 2015 AT 7.00 PM

PRESENT: Cllr P. Davies (Mayor) “ E.J. Breeze “ Mrs J. Crisp “ Mrs C. Edwardes “ Mrs L. Evans “ Lady Hooson “ Mrs A.M. Jones “ Mrs S. Mills “ Mrs A. Morgan “ G. Morgan “ P. Rees “ G. Rowlands “ Mrs P. Smith 2 Members of the Press Town Clerk

390/01 APOLOGIES Apologies were received from Cllr J. Whittal Willams

390/02 TO ACCEPT PERSONAL AND PECUNIARY INTERESTS IN ITEMS OF BUSINESS Declaration of Interest Forms were distributed and filed with the minutes. Cllr G Morgan declared a personal interest as a Member of Powys County Council

390/03 MINUTES The following minutes were read and confirmed:-

Minutes of Council Meeting held on 15.12.14 389/14 Cllr Mrs A. Morgan stated that it was agreed that Clerk leaves an answer phone message on telephone whilst on holidays. True Record

Panel Meeting minutes held on 12.01.15 Councillors agreed to the following recommendations:-

Turn Snooker Room into Meeting Room - Majority vote

Grant Football Club a 99 year lease – Unanimously voted on.

Amend minutes to state Cllr Davies’ annoyance at PCCs lack of information. Cllr Davies called them pathetic and gave Cllr Brown a hard time - unanimously agreed

1 Meeting with Steve Gealy 20.01.15 to discuss Devolution of Playground services – True Record

390/04 To receive correspondence:-

a) Letter from resident of Welshpool complaining of lack of facilities for Special Needs in Powys. It was agreed that the Clerk will request a copy of the reply from Mark Drakeford AM

b) Agenda and minutes from OVW Montgomeryshire Area Committee – Received

c) Statement from Public Sector Deposit Fund – Received

d) Burial Board reconciliations for November and December - Received

e) Section s137 Expenditure Limit for 2015/16 -Received

f) Request for funding from Relate Cymru - move to May Finance Panel meeting

g) Licence for Approval of Council Chamber for Civil Ceremonies - Received

h) Letter of thanks from Llanidloes and area National Eisteddfod Fund Raising Committee - Received

390/05 TO DISCUSS BROWN SIGNAGE FOR BYPASS (Cllr Crisp) Cllr Crisp explained that there is a lot of policy and guidance notices and suggested that a sub committee meet to discuss further. This was agreed and a meeting arranged for Wednesday 4th February at 6.30 pm with Cllrs Crisp, Smith and Evans expressing interest.

390/06 TO DISCUSS QUOTATIONS FOR NEW MOWER Cllr Davies explained that the mower will cost a lot to repair and it is 7 years old. Quotes for a new mower have been received. Cllr Rees asked if contracting out the grass cutting will be more cost effective? Cllr Rowlands stated that Burial Board is also looking for a new mower. This will be discussed further once we have had further discussions with PCC over devolution of services

2 390/07 TO DISCUSS COMPLAINTS REGARDING STREET LIGHTING AND TO ARRANGE A DATE FOR WALKABOUT It was agreed that Councillors will patrol their own wards and report any defective lights to the Town Clerk

390/08 TO SIGN AGREEMENT BETWEEN TOWN COUNCIL AND TIR COED The agreement drawn up by Tir Coed had been sent to Adrian Foulkes at Milwyn Jenkins & Jenkins prior to signing. Mr Foulkes came back with a couple of points which Cllr Davies read out. Cllr Margot Jones asked if the letter from friends of the woods along with the altered agreement could considered by Councillors in the future. It was agreed that Clerk will distribute the amended contract to all Councillors for consideration at the next Council meeting. Cllr Davies explained that the agreement which had been altered by Friends of the Woods had not been inserted onto the current agenda due to lack of time.

390/09 TO DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS COMMITTEE (Cllr Breeze) Cllr Breeze expressed his concern for the future of the lights committee with many current members wishing to stand down this year. This will leave a huge void. The lights are due to come down this Sunday starting at 9 am and volunteers are needed to help. Cllr Davies stated how grateful the Town are to the Lights Committee with their work being much appreciated

390/10 TO SIGN AND SEAL FOOTBALL CLUB LEASE It was agreed that the lease should be signed and sealed. Cllr Rees suggested the boundary line should between Football Club and Mr Vaughans’ field should be looked at. It was unanimously agreed to sign the lease.

390/11 TO SIGN AND SEAL LEASE FOR READING ROOM TO MR AND MRS HOULISTON, T/A ARCHAEOLOGY WALES LTD It was unanimously agreed to sign the lease.

390/12 TO DISCUSS ANY PLANNING APPLICATIONS

P2015/0064 Erection of a holiday cabin and all associated works at Land adjacent to Dyfnant The Old Quarry Penyrallt Wood Llanidloes Powys – No Objection 3 390/13 THE FOLLOWING ACCOUNTS AND BANK RECONCILIATION WERE UNANIMOUSLY AGREED

DECEMBER 2014

Chq No 100158 Severn Trent 1,607.07 100159 Smith of Derby (service of clock) 246.00 100160 Simon Edmunds 499.50 100161 Petty Cash 75.26 100162 Land Registry 280.00 100163 Inland Revenue 844.48 100164 PC Q 18.37 100165 OGW Builders 516.00 100166 D.W. Jerman 666.88 100167 JCR Plumbing 480.00

Total £ 5,233.56

390/14 COUNCILLORS QUESTIONS

Cllr Davies mentioned a leak in the ceiling of the Reading Room which requires full scaffolding and 3 quotations will be received soon. Clerk explained that there is also a leak in the snooker room office which will be sorted using a very large cherry picker. The cost for both jobs will be taken from the 2015/16 budget for Town Hall

Cllr Davies stated that almost all niggles are sorted with Heating system and so we need to discuss quotations for the decoration of the front entrance as well as decoration of upstairs rooms, and possibly the room at far end of the upstairs corridor which has been blocked off for many years

Cllr Margot Jones expressed concern over the proposed closure of the local Police station and stated that we deserve a police station especially with increased housing and the recent 3 armed robberies in which the police were commended for their actions. Cllr Davies stated that the Sargent has raised his concerns with him. It was agreed that a Consultation is supposed to take place and an alternative suitable site must be found. Mr 4 Salmon will be requested to come along to speak to Council again as a matter of urgency. It was agreed that PCSOs are a visible presence on the street but have limited powers.

Cllr G. Morgan suggested that updating the Website should be looked into. The explanation of the building is now outdated with newspapers and the snooker room still mentioned on the site. Councillors’ telephone numbers should be included also.

Clerk was asked to contact Sue Simpson/Catherine Richards to enquire why the gable end of the Old Market Hall has not yet been attended to?

390/15 TO CONFIRM DATES FOR FEBRUARY 2015 MEETINGS

9th February Meet with Cllr Graham Brown and Sue Simpson, PCC to discuss Devolution of Services

23rd February Full Council Meeting

27th January PAVO Asset transfer meeting at Monty Club Newtown 10 – 3 pm – Cllr Whittal Williams will attend

29th January Montgomery CHC meeting 2pm Oriel Davies Memorial Gallery

2nd February Newtown Town Council invitation to Clustering meeting 7 pm at Town Council offices Cllr Davies and Clerk expressed interest in attending

5th February OVW Training on Data Protection and FOI 6.00 – 8.30 pm Aberystwyth £15 per person

5 10th February Noahs Arc Hospital Visit to Cardiff 9.00 am from Celtic Travel

24th February OVW Local Government Finance training Trefeglwys Village Hall 6.30 – 9.00 pm £35 per person – Cllr Breeze expressed interest in attending

Meeting closed at 8.45